BRITA is a family-owned business manufacturing water filters and other products. Their history began in 1966 when company founder Heinz Hankammer, from Taunusstein, Germany, had the vision of optimising mains water in a smart and convenient way. In 1967, the AquaDeMat—a filter that demineralised water for car batteries at petrol stations—went into serial production for the first time. Since then, the company has evolved from a one-man show to an international business with over 2,000 employees. BRITA is passionate about changing the way people drink water sustainably.

BRITA operates in a matrixed environment, split across three sites: Bicester, Uxbridge, and Barnsley. With no internal recruitment function, recruitment fell under the HR Department's purview. As the business grew, HR found that recruitment was consuming more of their time, pulling them away from essential functions. Agencies were unable to fill vacancies satisfactorily, leading to high costs. To alleviate this burden, BRITA decided to hire an embedded talent partner, enabling the HR team to focus more on internal processes and culture. Quarsh began its partnership with BRITA in October 2019, acting as a single point of reference for all recruitment across the business. Quarsh covered roles across all functions, from production and warehousing to head office and strategic management positions. This partnership alleviated the pressure on HR, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities and long-term projects while significantly reducing recruitment costs.

Quarsh implemented the following process for all roles:

• Receive approved acquisition
• Briefing call with Hiring Manager
• Write adverts – receive approval
• Post to job boards (Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn, etc.) – reactive recruitment
• Proactive recruitment – sourcing methods across CV databases (Boolean & X-Ray techniques)
• Candidate Screening & Profiling (Thomas International)
• Shortlist candidates
• Book Interviews
• Attend Interviews – utilising situational and behavioural techniques, acting as the HR point of contact to evaluate cultural, behavioural, and values fit
• Make offer
• Follow-up interview after start

All recruitment marketing materials were designed and adopted within the business, from external advertising to internal departmental promotions. They also implemented monthly recruitment newsletters, distributed across the organisation by the internal recruiter.

This process has led to a significantly more positive candidate experience, with Quarsh ensuring feedback for all applicants. Hiring managers have appreciated the additional support through interview training and marketing efforts. Key achievements:

• The attrition rate across the business dropped from 20% (with Uxbridge reporting even higher) to less than 10%.
• BRITA is now saving over £100,000 annually on recruitment costs.
• The HR function has successfully worked on various large-scale projects aimed at increasing employee well-being and productivity.
• From October 2022 to September 2023:
• A total of 2,704 candidates were reviewed for 75 vacancies.
• Utilising Quarsh instead of external agencies for these roles resulted in a £110,000 saving for BRITA
• 69 of these vacancies were filled.
• The average time to hire has been 23 days.

We’d love to help you achieve your HR goals. Book a discovery Session to discuss how we can support your recruitment needs by completing the contact form below or drop us an email at hello@quarsh.com